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Straight Up (spread in parenthesis courtesy of ESPN)
Georgia Tech (-6) @ Virginia - I have been informed by my co-Pick'ems coordinator that this is the 25th anniversary of Georgia Tech's upset of then-#1 Virginia, which led to several revelations on my part. First off, I've learned that I was alive the last time Virginia was good, which coincidentally has led to a lot of soul-searching on my part on the meaning of getting older. But I digress. Georgia Tech pulled off a miracle last-second victory over Florida State last week, while Virginia 404 FILE NOT FOUND. Hmm, that's odd. Oh well. Maybe the victory last week will lead to Georgia Tech realizing it's preseason potential.

Georgia @ #11 Florida (-3) - The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party! This game has never made sense in regards to who wins, or even looks good. So while it'd be easy to look at this game and say Florida should walk away with an easy win, you also have to remember that Will Muschamp beat a very good Georgia team last year so yeah. Good luck.

#12 Oklahoma State (-3) @ Texas Tech - Oklahoma State is still undefeated, and if the betting line is any indication, still no one believes this team is as good as their record. I guess that's what happens when you need Texas to collapse on itself and questionable referee calls to win a few games. Texas Tech can put up a ton of points and might get some defensive stops so who knows again?

Louisiana-Monroe @ Louisiana-Lafayette (-11.5) - The Battle of Louisiana, Non-LSU Edition! These two teams aren't very good, but it's a rivalry game. The Ragin' Cajuns (Lafayette) have at least seemed competent at times, but the Warhawks (Monroe) have arguably played a tougher schedule to this point. This game might not be good, but it'll be incredibly-competitive, at least.

Arizona @ Washington (-5) - It feels unfair to put Arizona up two-weeks in a row, especially when this team isn't all that good. Washington has issues playing what many would call offense, but their defense is lights out. When Arizona has the ball, this will be a game of unstoppable force vs immovable object, while when Washington has the ball, it will be more incredibly-stoppable force vs very-movable object.

Against-the-Spread (spread in parenthesis courtesy of ESPN)
USC (-6) @ California - Welcome to this week's game of "Which USC team will show up?"! Last week we got super-talented USC that can run other teams off of the field (while also finally proving my opinion of "Utah isn't nearly that good" right), but we've also seen "only scores 10 points in a loss at home to Washington" USC this year. California can score, and they're the best offense USC has seen all year, but the defense is suspect. You'd think that, at home and coming off an embarrassing loss last week, Cal would come in with a chip on their shoulder, so we'll see how this one plays out.

Vanderbilt @ #18 Houston (-12) - Kinda says a lot about Vandy that an SEC team is a double-digit underdog on the road to a team from the American. Of course that's being unfair to both teams; Vandy isn't very good, while Houston is undefeated and fighting for an at-large bid into the New Years Six bowls. This will probably be the best defense Houston faces all season, though, so it won't be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. Also can't wait to see Tom Hermann coaching A&M next year when Sumlin leaves.

Tennessee (-9) @ Kentucky - The Border War (does this rivalry have a name? I assume it does but damn I don't want to actually find out)! Tennessee didn't look completely out of sorts against Alabama, and while the record wouldn't indicate it, this team really has made some progress towards being a real SEC-level team. Kentucky has also made gains from where they've been in the past, but they have a longer road to go, and losing to the 2015 Auburn Tigers isn't a good look. You have to like Kentucky's future, but their present still isn't great.

#8 Stanford (-10.5) @ Washington State - How in the hell did this Stanford team lose to Northwestern to start the year? They're a god damn murder machine now and would have a legitimate case to making the CFB Playoffs as a one-loss team. Meanwhile, the Cougs have made the leap in year four under Mike Leach, but it remains to be seen how they'll do against top-level competition. This game begins a brutal 3-game stretch (Stanford, ASU, @ UCLA) that will tell us more about this team, but Pullman is the PAC-12 version of Lubbock, and strange things can happen up in the Palouse.

GAME OF THE CENTURY OF THE WEEK (spread in parenthesis courtesy of ESPN) (AGAINST THE SPREAD)
#9 Notre Dame (-10.5) @ #21 Temple (AGAINST THE SPREAD) - It's not crazy to say this is the biggest game in Temple's history. This is the first time Temple has been ranked and facing another ranked team. And Temple's ranking is completely earned. Their defense is astoundingly good, and th offense can get the job done. Notre Dame, meanwhile, is still in the thick of the playoff hunt, and if they run the table, it'd be hard to leave out a team with wins over USC, Stanford, Temple, Pitt and with their one loss a 2 point road loss to Clemson. With a football slate that's not super-great, this will be worth the price of the weekend.

I have no idea what to make of Vernon Adams. Especially since he missed a few games in the middle there. If Oregon didn't have 11 cardboard cutouts for a defense and he didn't get hurt would he have Oregon in the top of the rankings or be the reason they came up short?

And in the end it doesn't matter because he's a one year rental and they're going to have to do something new at qb next year anyway, so this season season doesn't tell me anything. Well, other than they need to work on defensive recruiting/coaching because GODDAMN they suck

What era of football does that cover, and would it be interesting as an Alabama fan with a casual interest in Michigan football?

It is largely about the Hoke era, or more to the point, the Brandon era. It would be most interesting to you if you think Alabama's athletic director is on the more hyper-corporate greed end of the spectrum of ADs and is interested in extracting every last dollar from y'all as opposed to maintaining the things that are cool about college football (i.e. would he ever propose you and Auburn be in different divisions of the SEC and thus not play every year?).

Maybe the worst new thing is the culture he installed in the AD where:

1) Everyone was a yes man/woman with regards to Brandon.
2) It created Amazon's everyone out for themselves backstabby work environment.

Maybe the funniest moment in the book is where someone suggested he meet with Brian Cook (mgoblog founder) and his response was "No. You can't negotiate with a terrorist" and Cook's response was "That's funny, I also would have refused, for the exact same reason."

Jeebus. Yeah, when the SEC expanded Alabama and Auburn both forced the SEC to put them in the same division, because each wanted to play each other + one team that was clearly in the easy. Technically Auburn is much further to the East than Vanderbilt, but that was ignored.

And when the conference was expanded again the ADs made a fuss about being able to play our Eastern rival EVERY YEAR. So now we have the permanent eastern rival and the super-ass long rotation of every OTHER SEC East team in the other slot.

EDIT: I followed a lot of the shit going on via your posts, my friend named Goose who was a Michigan fan, and the funny MGOblog. So I know the basics about that shit. And considering how WELL our team was doing comparatively, I couldn't help but think how absurd that shit would be if your team was doing WELL. Trying to pull all that nickel and dime shit when your team is struggling is like drilling holes in a sinking ship to help the water get out.

Jeebus. Yeah, when the SEC expanded Alabama and Auburn both forced the SEC to put them in the same division, because each wanted to play each other + one team that was clearly in the easy. Technically Auburn is much further to the East than Vanderbilt, but that was ignored.

And when the conference was expanded again the ADs made a fuss about being able to play our Eastern rival EVERY YEAR. So now we have the permanent eastern rival and the super-ass long rotation of every OTHER SEC East team in the other slot.

EDIT: I followed a lot of the shit going on via your posts, my friend named Goose who was a Michigan fan, and the funny MGOblog. So I know the basics about that shit. And considering how WELL our team was doing comparatively, I couldn't help but think how absurd that shit would be if your team was doing WELL. Trying to pull all that nickel and dime shit when your team is struggling is like drilling holes in a sinking ship to help the water get out.

Will Georgia have a new HC next year?
Should Georgia get a new HC next year?

On the one hand, 10 win average over 15 yrs is very very good. On the other hand, being second every year is getting old.

Please fire the most successful coach in your modern history. Especially in a year where you'd be the #2 job open.

/whistles

What's #1?

USC (the one in LA)

I'd say that depends on whether or not Haden's there. But honestly, I think the writing is on the wall for him - he was hired for a single purpose that, due to things that happened this year, is no longer a factor. As such, I don't think he's going to be the AD for much longer.

Jeebus. Yeah, when the SEC expanded Alabama and Auburn both forced the SEC to put them in the same division, because each wanted to play each other + one team that was clearly in the easy. Technically Auburn is much further to the East than Vanderbilt, but that was ignored.

And when the conference was expanded again the ADs made a fuss about being able to play our Eastern rival EVERY YEAR. So now we have the permanent eastern rival and the super-ass long rotation of every OTHER SEC East team in the other slot.

EDIT: I followed a lot of the shit going on via your posts, my friend named Goose who was a Michigan fan, and the funny MGOblog. So I know the basics about that shit. And considering how WELL our team was doing comparatively, I couldn't help but think how absurd that shit would be if your team was doing WELL. Trying to pull all that nickel and dime shit when your team is struggling is like drilling holes in a sinking ship to help the water get out.